Yes, Virginia...Elsa Schinaparelli....Amber's Christmas Home....Louis Dean and Wine Time in the Gazebo.

 Look what I got in the mail from my Waco area friend, Dona!

It called for a cup of Christmas tea and a reading in front of the fireplace!

And look what my friend, Val, found in her purse!!

I have copied it off to keep and I was right on target with my memory.....although I did add cumin, black beans, tomato paste and some green enchilada sauce.....

I have news!!

A friend commented on the blog about the bottlte of perfume my sister, Luann, gave me on Tuesday.

"Your sister gifted you a treasure. The name on the glass is Schinaparelli for Elsa Schinaparelli born in Rome 1890 and died in France 1973. A famous clothes designer with an interesting history. Befiitting it found you!"

This perfume was released in 1937 so no telling how old this bottle is.

Apparently Elsa Schinaparelli was a rival of Coco Chanel's.

It appears this bottle has never been opened so the perfume has evaporated over the years.

This bottle may be 11 years older than I am!

Her most notable fragrance, Shocking de Schiaparelli, was launched in 1937. The bottle, in the shape of a woman's torso, was designed by Surrealist artist Leonor Fini and sculpted from actress Mae West's tailor dummy. The packaging was Shocking Pink (hot pink) and the advertisements were created by Surrealist artists Marcel Vertes and Salvador Dali. The floriental fragrance was created by perfumer Jean Carles.

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I finally visited Amber once they were clear of any suspecting Covid.

I absolutely LOVE her Christmas decor!

All done with such class.

Each family member has their initial in their stocking.

Amber made this garland using layers of garlands woven together.

The children's tree in the family room.

I love all her vignettes......this is the left side.....

the middle.....

and the right side.....all under the TV on the entertainment cabinet Mike designed and built in.

This sign and garland hangs in Amber's kitchen.

Vignette in the foyer.....left side....

....above center......

....and right side.

The deer wears a Christmas cap!

And you can see the big tree in the living room....

And I love the way she decorates her staircase!

A little different every year.

This was Louis Dean today. He does love his kitties and they do love him.

Both of them were up there but by the time I got my phone - Tabitha was gone!

This afternoon Louis Dean has been working on the actual deck now!

The sump pum and electric and water lines are all done and it's time to put the frame in for the deck!

Where he has it in the back there was not part of the original deck. 

That area had a stone walkway but that's history and he's excited to have a 5 foot flat space now.

It will extend all the way up to the stone patio outside the kitchen French doors.

And he thinks it will be done before Christmas!!

But the day is done now and it's time to 'wine down' and enjoy a campfire.

He's buring huge hunks of the old elm trying to clean up the flower bed where it has been piled for well over a year now. Maybe two?

We had an earlier glass of wine out in the gazebo before he took a hot bath and I started on my journal entry for tonight.

I dearly love looking through windows.